3 Plead Guilty In Intelsat Kickback Scheme To Get Millions

July 15, 1987|By United Press International

WASHINGTON — The former chief executive officer of the global communications consortium, Intelsat, and two others pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring in a scheme to obtain $4.8 million in illegal kickbacks.

Richard Colino, 51, the former director general of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization pleaded guilty to one felony count of interstate transportation of money taken by fraud.

Prosecutors said Colino's plea involved a scheme in which he and others fraudulently obtained about $4.8 million in four transactions from Intelsat from April 1984 to December 1986.

The company, a global satellite consortium, carries virtually all of the world's international telephone and video traffic.

The transactions in this case involved the construction and financing of the new Intelsat buildings in Washington.

Colino, before U.S. District Judge Gerhard Gesell, admitted his guilt in the scheme and his receiving and sharing in about $2.7 million.

He told the judge he personnally profited by ''over $1 million.''

''You did that knowingly and purposefully?'' Gesell asked.

''Yes, sir,'' Colino replied.

His sentencing was set for Sept. 11, when he could face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Two others also pleaded guilty in the scheme, including Manuel Sera, 66, the owner of a Washington real estate firm, who admitted guilt in conspiring to tranport fraud proceeds across state lines, and taking part in three transactions, involving $3.4 million. He admitted keeping $390,000.

Charles Gerrell, 44, a mortgage broker from Little Rock, Ark., pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy charge and involvement in two of the transactions, worth about $2.4 million, of which he kept $435,000.

Those two men could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and fines of $250,000.

Intelsat filed suit in May against Colino, seeking to recover the $11.5 million they said he bilked from the organization through a complicated scheme of kickbacks, and phony bills from construction companies and foreign consulting firms, which were then deposited in his secret Swiss bank account. In a statement after the hearing, Colino disclosed that he had filed for bankruptcy protection because ''this outstanding claim of Intelsat greatly exceeds Mr. Colino's net worth.''